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speedypick · February 2nd, 2009

Hi-

I'm having trouble getting my design screen printed on a tee. The background comes out fine, but there are lots of colors in the main image, and simulated process does not do it justice. Would it be easier to have the main image reproduced as a heat transfer? It would have to be placed in the exact location for this to work, and I don't have a heat press, so just buying the transfers won't cut it. Ideally, there's someone in NY to whom I can bring the tees with screen printed backgrounds, hand over the transfers, show the exact location, and get it done. I'm assuming, of course, that it's easier and cheaper to reproduce many colors as a heat transfer than as a screen print. If I'm wrong about this, this idea doesn't make sense. A few people in the forum say it's feasible to combine media, but I'm clueless about actually getting it done -- in what cases and how.

Thanks...

ZachEllsworth · February 2nd, 2009

You can definitely use a heat transfer to cover what you've already printed but you should make the transfer design slightly larger so the edges can adhere directly to the shirt and not to the ink you have already applied.

I'm sure there are plenty of shops in the NY area that own a heat press - full color transfers are available from a number of companies including F&M Expressions and Transfer Express...

speedypick · February 2nd, 2009

Thanks, Zach. What I would actually do is not screen print the main image at all, so the heat transfer would lie on top of the blank tee. But am I right that it's easier to produce a full color heat transfer than a full color screen printed tee? You don't have to use simulated process colors, or do you?